


Love trumps Hate

by shannyfish



Series: Agents of J'onzz [8]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Adler & Benanti, Adler x Benanti, Agents of J'onzz, Alternate Universe - Dark, F/F, Fight the Future, Gen, Love Wins, Through the Looking Glass, domestic Adler & Benanti, don't fear it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-21 00:25:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9522830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: DEO Agents Adler and Harewood find themselves in another world that looks so much like our own, hopeful that Danvers and Torres are safe, they struggle to find a way home...and to come to grips with the nearly apocalyptical world that they've found themselves in.





	1. Arguments & Disruptions

**Author's Note:**

> This story is going to be 3-4 parts. There will definitely be more Kara, Alex, & J'onn in the last 1-2 parts. 
> 
>  
> 
> There's going to be some political views in this, if you don't like them, I'm sorry but you have been warned. Please just stop reading if they offend you or don't align with your view, don't bother commenting. Writing is one of the things that helps me cope, so don't be a jerk. :D

**Day One**

  
  


"Come on, Lara...you can't be serious."

 

"I am."

 

"Aren't we too old to have another kid?" Alice asked her wife as she moved to pour herself a cup of coffee.  It was early and this wasn't exactly the pre-coffee morning discussion that she'd intended to wake up to.  She grabbed two mugs and poured coffee into both before pushing one in Lara's direction, who was already ready with some kind of special edition coffee creamer (she had no idea if it was pumpkin spice, eggnog, or something like salted caramel blah blah).  Alice began downing her cup, she didn't add anything to it on a normal day and today she felt like she was going to need at least a good two cups before they had this full on discussion.

 

"I'm not quite  _ that  _ old," Lara told her grumpily.

 

The discussion of another child had come up before a few times, but they'd always agreed that it would be the right time and that Lara would be the one to carry it.  It wasn't that she didn't like kids, it was just because of her age and because she was never one who wanted to carry a child (and it was something that sort of creeped her out).  She loved Charlie and she knew that she could love another child that was theirs, but Alice just didn't feel like now was the best time for them to bring another child into the world.

 

"We both work in a dangerous field and--"

 

"I was a Marine when I had Charlie," her wife reminded.

 

Alice opened her mouth and then closed it before drinking more of her coffee.  She hated it as it was when they went out on separate missions because Alice would rather be there to back up Lara.  She had no idea how she could even think about Lara out in the field and knowing she was pregnant or could be.  She knew that it was common for women in the military and law enforcement to keep on doing their normal jobs months into their pregnancy.  

 

"When is going to be a better time, Alice?  My clock's ticking...your clock has tocked…"

 

She rolled her eyes at that and refilled her mug again.  This might be one of those mornings where she drank all of the coffee, pretty much by herself.  Alice just didn't know how she was supposed to be okay with them bringing a child into the world (or attempting to) with how insane their jobs were.  There were already so many times where they were certain that they weren't going to make it home to Charlie.  Of course they had all of their legal papers together and their daughter would be taken care of, but there was still so much uncertainty and so much danger out there.

 

"When we round up all of the Fort Rozz aliens?" she attempted a response.

 

Lara's face dropped, she sighed, and headed back to the bedroom with her coffee.

 

"Sweetheart," Adler called, but Lara didn't stop.  Now she sighed and then started to drink her third cup of coffee.  Today was definitely going to be a long day.  Leaning against the counter, she thought about everything they had to do before they even stepped foot in the DEO.  It was only going to feel longer with the tension between the two of them.  It wasn't exactly a fight, Alice thought, but it was close enough.  She and Lara didn't tend to stay mad or upset long, they always resolved things.  

 

Looking over at the clock on the microwave, she groaned.  There were only fifteen minutes until Charlie had to be woken.  With how the morning was going, she was fairly sure that she was going to have to do things all on her own.  That was fine, she could do it, but it was always so much better when she and Lara did things together.

 

"I'm going to need more coffee," she whispered to herself as she stared into her nearly empty third cup of coffee.  

 

Moving to Charlie's room, Alice decided that it was best to wake up her daughter now rather than wait.  She pulled up the blinds to let the bright sunshine into the room.  "Time to get up."

 

"My alarm didn't go off," Charlie mumbled from under her covers.

 

She couldn't fault the kid for that.  She hated getting up before her alarm went off as well.  After all, alarms were set for a reason.  Grumpy, but really trying to keep from taking it out on Charlie, she mumbled as she headed out of the bedroom.  "Well... _ start _ waking up…"

 

At least Lara had already set out Charlie's clothes the night before, so all that was really left was supervising that breakfast, toothbrushing, and hair was done...and double checking to make sure that her shoes were on the right feet.  Moving back to the kitchen, she set her empty coffee cup on the counter near the partial coffee pot before moving to check the fridge and freezer to see what she was going to make for the kid.  

 

"Mom Alice!" Charlie shouted from bed.

 

"What?"

 

"Can we just go to the beach or something fun today?"

 

Sometimes it felt like they never got to do anything than the same routine over and over again.  That meant school and after school activities followed by going to the Harewoods for Charlie while she and Lara went to work at the DEO which meant that their hours were unpredictable. Alice couldn't fault the kid for trying.  The beach actually sounded nice today.  It was sunny and they hadn't been forever, but Charlie couldn't miss school.  She also didn't think that the boss would appreciate them both calling out for a family day.  "Not today, Sweetheart."

 

She could hear Charlie's groan in response.

 

"I feel you, Kid," she whispered to herself as she poured herself another cup of coffee.  

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"What's up with you and Benanti?"

 

Alice tried to ignore the question, but eventually Alex's long look made her feel like perhaps spilling her guts over what had happened might be a good thing.  Sure, Alex Danvers couldn't completely understand, but she could listen.  "We had a disagreement this morning."

 

"You two never fight."

 

"That's not true."  She paused for a moment.  It was true, though.  She and Lara had fought all kinds of times before this time.  Never had it been about adding to their family, though.  They'd talked about it and they'd always agreed that in that moment, it wasn't the right time.  Alice realized that they were both getting older, but there were still so many aliens out there...and with the Alien Amnesty Act, she just didn't know if things would fight back or go smoothly.  Things never went smoothly for them.  Alice huffed.  "She wants to have a baby."

 

"Okay," Alex replied evenly.

 

"I don't think it's the right time."

 

"My mom would likely say that there's no 'right' time for a baby," Alex said and it was clear that she was a little surprised that those words had fallen right out of her mouth.  Alice knew Alex well enough to know that she was rebuilding her relationship with her mother, so maybe it was the fact that she was quoting her that was throwing her off guard.  "I mean, do you both want another?"

 

"I mean, Charlie is  _ awesome _ ," Alice said.  "You know I love that kid to death."  She might not share any DNA with her or have raised her since she was born, but she'd been in her life for over four years.  They were a family and Alice would cross the world and give her life if it meant saving her daughter.  DNA didn't change the fact that Charlie was her daughter.  "I just...you see what we do everyday…"

 

"I know I'm probably not the best one to talk about this," Alex admitted.  "Harewood would probably be better since he actually _ has _ kids."

 

"You have Kara."

 

Alex laughed in response to that.

 

"I do," Alex said with a nod.  "And if I had to decide if I could have her...or another Kryptonian child to fall from the sky tomorrow...I would do it."

 

"Even with everything we see?"

 

" _ Especially _ because of everything we see."

 

"All I keep thinking is that if something happens--"

 

"Talk to Harewood."

 

Davis Harewood was one of their fellow DEO agents and probably one of the few agents that had made it through this long, he'd been at the DEO just about as long (if not slightly longer) than she had.  He had kids and a wife...and honestly was probably the most normal one out of all of them when it came to having balance and having an outside life.  His family always came first and he was always willing to help where he could.  His wife watched Charlie pretty much everyday after school.  He was also probably the agent that they drove the craziest.  

 

Alice just sighed and walked off.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Adler, we're getting strange readings from the other side of National City, I need you to take a team and investigate," J'onn instructed.

 

"Of course," she said, her hands on her hips and a short nod.  Alice hadn't talked to Harewood, mainly because it was something completely awkward and she didn't feel up to it.  Maybe she was embarrassed or maybe it was because she felt like maybe she was wrong.  

 

"Take Danvers, Harewood, and Torres."

 

She went to ask why he wasn't sending Lara along, but she closed her mouth instead.  It wasn't her place to question his orders (even though she did it all the time).  Alice just really didn't want to make a big deal of her fight with her wife and have it splash over into work.  They'd always made it work before.  Now shouldn't be any different.

 

"I figured you two could use some distance today," J'onn said quietly.

 

"What?"

 

"I know you two had a disagreement."

 

Right.  He could read or sense or some kind of brain powers.  Alice just stared at him for a long moment, slightly squinting.  She really wasn't sure what to think about his powers.  He'd never said anything like this before to her where he was obviously using his powers, so it was throwing her off just a bit.

 

"We can still be professional," Alice countered.

 

"I know, but Harewood would likely rather not be put in the middle of the tension."

 

"So, you send him out with me, Danvers, and Torres?  How sweet of you," she said sarcastically.  They were all going to drive the poor man crazy.  

 

"I have faith that the three of you can work together with Harewood and make it home before dinner," J'onn said.

 

"Tall order."

 

"You can do it."

 

Alice nodded.  "I can do it."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Are we taking bets?" Harewood brought up.

 

They all looked back at him.  It wasn't like him to speak much.  That's what probably made it so awkward to talk to him about anything.  They all knew basically everything about him, but he just wasn't a talker or a sharer.  Alice swore that the rest of them, but especially her and Lara, shared everything with their fellow agents.  They were a family.  It just couldn't be helped.

 

"I mean, we can," Torres told him.

 

"You all _ always  _ do bets."

 

He was right.

 

They did.

 

"I guess it kind of depends on  _ what  _ we're betting on," Adler said.  

 

"How about this being some wild alien chase?" Harewood offered.

 

"I'd appreciate that change."

 

"Me too," Alex chimed in.

 

Torres shook her head.  "I'm going to say that it's going to be alien activity.  No matter how lucky we  _ think  _ we're going to be...or how wacky the civilian account, there's always _ some _ alien activity around the location."

 

"I would prefer being back in a timely manner," Harewood said.  

 

"You mean, you actually  _ want  _ to work the  _ exact _ hours that we're supposed to?"

 

"Don't act like you don't like the overtime."

 

Torres shrugged.  "I don't have anyone to go home to except for my cat, the three of you all have people…"

 

"Yeah, mine's not talking to me right now," Adler commented grumpily leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

 

"You also have a tiny human that adores you and you know that Benanti will get over it," Torres told her.  "You two have been together this long...aliens left and right everyday and the world ending every other week hasn't ended your relationship."  

 

Adler looked out the window.  "Let's just hope it's actually nothing."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


It was definitely not nothing.  

 

It was absolutely something.  

 

As they neared the location, it was abundantly clear that something alien was going on.  "What the hell is that?!" Adler exclaimed.  On the other side of National City, outside of the city limits, there was a quite large section of Earth that appeared to be scorched, a large grey-blue bubble that looked a lot to Adler like a portal floated above the area.  

 

"Whatever it is," Danvers spoke up.  "It's not going to be good."

 

They parked a good distance from the spot and moved from their vehicle.  The team was armed and on high alert.  They'd not observed any activity since they'd pulled in, but that meant nothing.  They all knew that.  Adler was always pleased when she didn't have to train or babysit any new agents, it was also for their own safety and sanity (as well as hers).  She was glad that she only had seasoned and trained agents that she knew that she could completely trust with her in that moment.  Her first thoughts as they slowly moved towards the bubble portal was that hostiles could be invisible.  They were spread out as they slowly advanced, but not too far, only a few feet from each other.  

 

"Even if you think you're imagining something, call it out, no matter how small!" Adler snapped.  

 

Working at the DEO over the years, they'd all seen things.  Weird things.  Foreign things.  Alien things.  Things that they thought was nothing.  Things that they could never unsee.  They wouldn't take any chances or make any mistakes.  No, Adler would ensure that they all made it safely back to the DEO...and hopefully get Harewood back in time for him to make it home for dinner.  

 

"Do we have any readings?"

 

A beat.

 

"Weird…" she heard Danvers mutter from the right.  

 

"What?" she asked, Adler's head snapping quickly to the side.  She saw Alex standing there, she'd stopped a few steps behind everyone else.  "What is it?"

 

"The magnetic field seems to be strengthening the closer we move to it," Alex replied.

 

"So, maybe we should back up and wait for a group to contain it?" 

 

"If we can--"

 

But before Danvers could launch off on one of her scientific rants that left Adler with a headache, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something launch itself at Torres.  One moment there had been nothing and then suddenly there was a black, oddly limbed, growling alien after one of her agents.  As soon as she took a step in one direction, she saw another appear off to the other side.  Danvers moved towards Torres while she moved towards Harewood.  Moving with her gun ready, she realized she needed to do something more important, she needed to report in.  She had no idea how many more aliens would suddenly appear and the need for back up was something that she was starting to think that they were really going to need.

 

"Adler to Base.  We're under attack by unknown hostiles able to go unseen," Adler got out before gunfire punched through what she was saying.  "There's some sort of portal here too.  We're going to need some he--"  She was cut off, not by a punch or a gunshot this time, but by the fact that she and Harewood were both launched backwards as several new aliens suddenly appeared.  

 

Everything went black.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


When Alice woke up, she wasn't where she expected to be.  She expected to find herself flat on her back with a DEO agent staring down at her.  Adler was ready to be embarrassed beyond belief and then likely relieved to find that it was just her wife, but that just wasn't the case.  Groaning and then giving herself a moment to stretch, she got up and looked around.  It was then that she realized that she wasn't alone.  

 

Harewood.

 

Scrambling upward into a standing position and springing forward, apparently doing both far too quickly, she nearly collapsed at his side.  She sucked in a breath and then reached out to check for a pulse.  Pushing out the breath and then allowing herself to slump, Adler realized that whatever had happened, she just had to be thankful that they were alive.  " _ Damnit _ , Davis...scare the crap out of me," she grumbled.  She swore the other agent had a knack for breathing too lightly where she couldn't clearly see his chest rise and fall.  She supposed his version of 'playing dead' came in handy now and then.  As she sat there, Alice looked around and tried to take in where they were.  She didn't know.  "So, the good news...no aliens...and it doesn't look like we're actually in a cell…"  

 

"Where are we?" Harewood mumbled.

 

Her eyes darted to his face again, his eyes were still closed.  "Hell if I know."

 

"Helpful," he shot back as his eyes opened.  

 

"I mean, I can leave you here and go look around…"

 

Harewood was suddenly just glaring at her.

 

"You done laying around wasting time?" Adler teased as she finally got to her feet (again).  "I thought you were the one who wanted to be home in time for dinner?"  She held out a hand and he took it before she helped haul him to his feet.  

 

"You're a pain in the ass, Adler."

 

"You know you wouldn't have it any other way."

 

He didn't respond to her comment, instead he seemed to be looking over himself, to see if anything had been removed from his person.  She'd sort of already done that, but hadn't been that concerned after she noticed that she definitely still had a knife and gun holstered on her body.  That meant that if any hostile popped out, she was prepared.  

 

"Torres?  Danvers?" Harewood questioned as they slowly moved in the same direction.

 

"Hopefully they're safe and don't need rescuing," Adler commented.

 

"Agreed."

 

The rest of their walk out of whatever crumbled building that they'd been originally unconscious in, had been a quiet one.  Adler hadn't minded that.  She and Harewood were alike in that, they both preferred silence when possible.  Sunlight was streaming in, but it was clear as they moved closer to it that the sun was going down.  It was far closer to dinner time than it had been when they'd gone out to check the alien disturbance from the DEO.  Adler glanced down at her watched and immediately made a face.  Her watch had stopped.  How had she not noticed that before?  Grumbling, she knew this meant that she was going to have to acquire a new one when they got back.  She was fairly sure that Lara had bookmarked this last one on Amazon, so its replacement should be easy enough...especially since Alice was particular about items like that.  

 

"What are you thinking?"

 

Adler shot him a look.  "That you're not my therapist."

 

Harewood shook his head.  "Don't worry, I don't want to be."

 

"Lara's probably worried…"

 

"Oh crap…"

 

Harewood was at a window before she was, she blamed it partly on his height and long legs.  Adler was right there with him a moment later.  What she saw wasn't what she expected.  They were inside of National City, Alice couldn't quite put her finger on the exact spot...but it was National City.  That wasn't why Harewood had made the exclamation he'd made though… 

 

National City.

 

In ruins.

 

"That's that coffee shop that Danvers and her sister are always going to," Harewood pointed out.

 

The sign was pretty much gone and there was just a broken glass window front that was really left of it.  Adler had no idea how Harewood knew that was Noonan's.  "What the hell happened?" she breathed as she took in more and more.  Not a soul could be seen from their vantage point.  "And how long have we been asleep?"  There was graffiti of every kind, of hate and hope.  

 

All of it confusing.

 

None of it sounded like the city they were used to.

 

Hate about race.

 

Hate about gender.

 

Hate about sexuality.

 

Hate about religion.

 

Hate about aliens.

 

Hate about humans.

 

Hate.

 

Hate.

 

Hate.

 

The House of El symbol.

 

Hope.

 

"It's suddenly feeling a lot longer than I suspected…"

 

The last thing that Adler took in were two painted posters to her right.  One was of the female president that she remembered, painted in patriotic colors with the word 'hope' stenciled below it.  The other was a man with comic book hair and a strange expression with the word 'hate' below it.  

 

Then it just went back.  

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


TBC…

  
  



	2. Numb

**Day Two**

  
  


They'd slept in the building they'd woken up in the day before.  They'd both wanted to get out of the there and figure out what was going on, and more importantly...to figure out a way to get home.  The day before, they'd gone out and explored the streets a bit, but hadn't gotten too far before they'd had to take cover.  They'd been fired upon, not by people, but by flying drones.  

 

The city was vacant it seemed.

 

Dead.

 

"Kirsten and the girls have to be so worried," Davis breathed as they sat there munching.  

 

Luckily, they both packed snacks in their vests.  It wasn't even so much in case something like this happened, in case they ended up stranded somewhere for far longer than they'd been originally prepared for.  It was because of the basic reason that it seemed like most of the DEO agents mainly snacked for the majority of the day rather than eating full meals.  Snacking worked out better in their line of work it seemed like anyways.  

 

Adler just closed her eyes as she sat there.  The one thing that they needed to make sure they found was water.  That was something that hadn't been on their persons when they'd ended up where they were.  "Lara and I left things--"

 

"You know she's not going to be mad about this," he told her.  

 

Opening her eyes, she rolled her head in the direction he was sitting in and stared at him for a long moment.  "It just sucks…  We both know better than to go to work after an argument, we should have talked it over and just have come in late."

 

"Sometimes that's hard."

 

"We both know that it should have been done."

 

"True, but now you'll know for your next argument," Harewood told her.

 

"I don't want there to be a future argument."

 

"That's not realistic."

 

Adler shrugged.  "Our jobs don't feel realistic most of the time."

 

"Valid."

 

"What do you make of what we saw out there yesterday?"

 

"Better to stay under cover," Harewood said as he tucked a granola wrapper into his vest pocket.  "Today, let's try not to be seen."

 

"There's no way this is our Earth, right?" Adler asked him.  "I mean, this is something I'd normally ask Danvers--"

 

"This place is definitely not  _ our  _ Earth," Harewood told her quickly.  "We're on some alternate Earth or something…"

 

"Maybe that Flash guy is here--"

 

"Do you really think he'd let things get so bad?  Even if this isn't _ his _ city?"

 

"Crap, Davis, you don't have to make so much sense!" Alice groaned.  "Geez…"

 

Harewood just shook his head at her before getting to his feet.  "Let's figure out how we're going to get home."

 

"You know, I was hoping that portal would just re-appear here...since it dumped us here in the first place," Adler said as she got to her feet and motioned around.  

 

"Like we'd get it that easy."

 

He was right.

 

She wasn't going to tell him that, though.  As much as she maybe preferred having Harewood there, he could be such a pain in the ass.  Adler stretched as glanced down at her watch, the one that was broken, out of habit more than anything.  The reminder that her watch was broken, though, just irked her all the more.  "How are we going to do this?"

 

"There have to be people," Harewood insisted.  "Ruins and some drone that fires on people out in the open can't be all that's left of National City.  There have to be people and they're probably underground."

 

"We don't have a subway--"

 

"No, but there used to be that train line that they tried doing underground, it was sort of like a subway…  They did entire sections to prep for it...and then they hit that issue of their main station not being structured well enough with earthquakes factored in--"

 

"Wouldn't they have had to tear down an entire building to restructure it to make it work?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"I didn't realize that they'd actually gotten sections done before that," Adler commented.

 

"That's why Kreisberg and Winter were under all that serious construction a few years back."

 

Adler paused.  "That's to think that there are similarities between the two worlds."

 

"Got a better plan?"

 

"Nope."

 

"We better get moving then."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Are you  _ fucking  _ serious?"

 

"That's what I've been thinking since we came through the fucking portal  _ yesterday _ ," Adler told him.  It wasn't often that Harewood talked, especially since he wasn't a very chatty person to begin with, so when he was dropping the f-bomb then it was something serious.  

 

"I'd suspect that we'd gone back in time or--"

 

"That fresh 2020 election poster that looks like it's just been put up I feel like indicates that it couldn't possibly be that we went through some  _ time  _ portal."  Adler sighed.  "You know, our lives used to be just filled with _ just  _ aliens...this... _ this _ I blame on that little sunny speed demon that came from some other parallel universe by accident and then helped Supergirl with Livewire and Silver Banshee…  He probably popped some hole in the space time continuum."

 

" _ Nerd _ ."

 

" _ Shut it _ , Harewood," Adler immediately shot back with a slight glare.  " _ Remember _ , I have pictures from halloween of you dressed up as some guy from  _ Star Trek _ ."

 

"I was chaperoning kids trick or treating around the neighborhood," Harewood reminded.

 

"So was I, but I wasn't decked out in some pointy ears--"

 

"I can't help it if you don't dress up as a theme with Charlie...and Lara."

 

Lara absolutely loved halloween.  Adler was actually fairly sure that her wife loved halloween more than Charlie and basically any other holiday and/or event that occurred during the year.  Ever since she'd met her wife, she'd always dress up.  Sometimes it was to try to be in some sort of theme with Charlie and other times, it was just whatever the hell caught her fancy.  Alice, however, refused to ever dress up.  She'd done it as a kid and had always gotten crap from her peers, so she saw no need to do it as an adult.  

 

Stopping to think about it, Alice eyed Harewood as they continued to move as stealthily as they could.  "Your girls were dressed up as Supergirl and that other red, white, and blue superheroine with the lasso," Adler said.  "How was your space man part of that theme?"

 

"Spock's a big damn hero!"

 

"Oh-kay," Adler exclaimed brightly.  

 

"You know for someone who's married to the woman you're married to, I would have thought that she would have you dressing up in costumes with her and attending those crazy cons…"

 

"Pride?"

 

"I was thinking more that...Comic Con thing…"

 

"Yeah, that's not happening."

 

Harewood seemed amused now.  "It's never come up?"

 

"And you're not going to bring it up," Adler countered grumpily.

 

"Isn't your anniversary coming up?"

 

"How do you remember that?"

 

"I'm a good friend."

 

Adler sighed.  "You are."

 

"Now, let's figure out how the hell we're going to get back home to our wives and kids."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


The racial slurs caught Adler off guard.  

 

That wasn't all, though, as both she and Harewood were slammed against a wall out of nowhere.  They hadn't seen them coming or heard anything.  They'd nearly been to the underground entrance Harewood had been talking to her about.  They didn't take it easy, they fought back and the men in the hoods and masks fought them right back.  Adler elbowed one really good in the face and for a moment, she thought they were going to make it away--

 

And then it all went black.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"What'd'ya find?"

 

"She's one of those fucking gays!"

 

"That makes sense, she dresses like a man and thinks she can do a man's job.  Fucking dyke!"

 

"When will they fucking learn?"

 

"Why don't you shut your backwards mouth?!" Harewood shot out. 

 

The sound of his grunts immediately after forced her fully awake, her eyes open.  Her immediate response was to go to his aid, but she was tied and in no position to do so.  Adler had to watch as they kicked the crap out of her friend.  

 

"Damn ape!" 

 

It sounded very much like they were in the past or some other backwards part of the country, not National City.  Adler couldn't just stay there quiet.  No, she had to divert their attention away from Davis.  "What the hell has happened to all of you?  Is this because of those clown posters we saw out there?"

 

"Neanderthals!" Harewood shouted as they moved away from him and turned their attention to Adler.

 

"Shut your mother fucking mouths!  That's _ our _ president you're talking about!"

 

"King of the ignorant might be a better title," Adler countered and received a fairly heavy blow across the face for her remark.  "Freaking redneck nazis!" 

 

"Let's just hang them or whatever and get this over with!" one of the men that was holding them shouted.  

 

They were obviously hitting nerves, but Adler wasn't just going to sit there like some helpless silent damsel while her friend was beaten within an inch of his life because they'd landed in some twisted reality.  

 

"You know that's not how we do things," one of the others in a red cap with some bullshit saying countered.  They were all armed and looked like they were all dressed for a hunting trip, which made Adler wonder if this was some kind of makeshift militia of some sorts.  It only made Alice wonder all the more what was different about their National City, their America, and their Earth that had produced this kind of hate and chaos.  The city seemed to be completely destroyed, but there were obviously still people wandering around like they were looking for elk to shoot.  

 

"We're not witches, you know," Adler grumbled.

 

"Might as well be," Harewood chimed in.

 

"You'll be wishing we were that kind," one of the men said with a snort.  "Burning at the stake would be a mercy…"

 

"No," one of the others spoke up.  "We take them to Cadmus and let them do what they want with them.  Anything they do will be far worse than anything we can think up."

 

Shit.

 

If Cadmus was anything like what they had on their world, they were in for a world full of trouble.  This world was already so much worse than their own planet, so Alice could only imagine how much worse their Cadmus was.  Obviously Cadmus wasn't hiding its face on this world, it sounded like it was more like law enforcement if anything (well, more like the justice system without the whole right to a trial part).  

 

They were screwed.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


**Day Three**

  
  


It was like walking into some kind of nightmarish prison.  All the walls were constructed of some kind of clear substance that looked like glass.  She knew it couldn't be glass, though, because during their walk to their cells, she'd caught aliens being held (ones that she knew were strong as all hell).  Adler was sort of relieved when she and Harewood were tossed in the same cell, where it was already occupied with a couple of other people.  She looked around, trying to assess for any weaknesses.  She didn't see any.

 

"Fuck this," she grumbled.

 

"They've got men, women, and children in here," Harewood told her.

 

"And aliens," she added and then shook her head, her hands on her hips.  "We're fucked."  She just stared out of their cell.  All of the other cells reached out for as far as their eyes could see.  That's how it had felt walking in there too.  It was like this huge complex that was dedicated to locking up people that they didn't like.  

 

"What were you doing out there?" someone asked.

 

"What are you wearing?" someone else asked.

 

They were wearing their standard DEO issue field black clothing, but of course all of their weapons and devices had been removed from them upon entering Cadmus.  "We were trying to get home...obviously we weren't going the right way," Adler mumbled.  

 

"What military group are you with?"

 

"Department of Extra-Normal Operations," Adler spit out without thinking about it much.  Normally the DEO was a secret, but she figured that it really didn't matter much since they weren't even on their Earth.  "But we sort of came here through a portal...dropped into this hellhole of a world."

 

"You're from someplace else?" 

 

"Yeah," Harewood said.  "We have a Cadmus, but it's not like this.  They're small.  They go after aliens--"

 

"They're never going to let you out of here," someone muttered.

 

And Alice felt like they were right.

 

Finding a spot near the cell door, she pressed her back against the wall and slid down until she was in a sitting position.  She was keeping her eyes out and ready, but she was also thinking about Lara and everything that she had fucked up at home.  They'd taken her picture of her with Lara and Charlie.  The stupid redneck hunting militia had taken it.  It still pissed her off that she and Davis hadn't been able to take them, but they had been outnumbered by far more than they apparently could take.  

 

"Alice?  You can't give up hope," Davis said.

 

"Trying to see a way out of this...so far, not seeing it," Alice said.  "And Lara and I fought before I left…"

 

"Lara's just going to be happy to have you home, you know that," Harewood told her.  "She's not going to still be upset about whatever you fought about."

 

"I'm just happy that the boss didn't send her with us this time."

 

It was so ugly there.

 

Hopeless.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


**Day Four**

  
  


She'd been moved.

 

They'd come the night before and separated everyone that had been in the cell with her and Harewood in a fit of screams and resistance.  The screams still hadn't stopped.  Alice had learned very quickly on in Cadmus that the screams never really stopped, they just sprung anew from someone else's lungs.

 

She was alone.

 

She was  _ terrified _ .

 

They'd done simple things to her, taken blood and asked her questions (though she really hadn't given them much in the way of answers).  She'd done what she could to conceal her identity.  It wasn't so much that she was Alice Adler, it was that she didn't belong on that Earth.

 

Harewood being somewhere else, having no idea what they were doing to him, that was hard.  She'd tried to express her concern to the doctor who had come in and taken her blood (which had only been done as she'd been held down by several security guards), but she'd gotten no information.  The only response that she'd gotten was an eerie one, that her friend was being taken care of.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


**Day Unknown**

  
  


Time passed differently there.

 

Slowly.

 

Confusingly.

 

The room was always the same.

 

Sterile.

 

Solitary.

 

The lights were always on.

 

Awake.

 

Exhausted.

 

The somewhat routine was now almost constant.

 

Leave her for a while.

 

Take blood.

 

Leaver her for a while.

 

Knock her around and demand information.

 

Do it all over again.

 

They'd threatened her more times than she could count.  One think that she was thankful for was that there was no way on this Earth that they could use her family against her.  If it had been her Earth, she'd do anything to keep Lara and Charlie from being harmed.  

 

Anything.

 

There was no escape.

 

No hope for a rescue.

 

Alice had given up all hope completely.  She'd accepted her fate and actually was ready to welcome death...if only it would take her.  Right now, she was fairly sure she was going to die from boredom over anything else.  They never actually injured her enough that she actually thought that she would die.  It was just pain...and in a way, it was mindless pain.  

 

She'd just lay there in the cell, pushing the pain away.  Ignoring the light that would never darken.  Wishing to stop time that already felt like it was halted.  Alice would just lose herself in memories.  Sometimes they were happy memories, domestic memories, romantic memories, sexual memories, and sometimes they were stupid memories.  Even the horrible ones, they were better than anything that Cadmus spit out at her.

 

Time passed by, but it didn't.

 

The numbness remained.

 

Lara…

 

Charlie…

 

The DEO…

 

Home…

 

It was like a black void that refused to swallow her up.  It was so much easier being lost in her memories...in dreams that she made up...to ignore the world that she was trapped in.  

 

There was a disruption in the normalcy--

 

Gunfire.

 

It yanked her out of her memory...a moment where she, Lara, Danvers, and Vasquez were out drinking.  It had been a happy one where laughter and embarrassing stories filled the space between them.  It hadn't been interrupted by the shattering shock of gunfire punching through.  

 

Blink.

 

Blink.

 

Breath.

 

Blink.

 

Gasp.

 

It was like the entire world came tumbling into reality.  The harsh reality of it all.  The unyielding lights, the pain, and the truth that she was alone in that room...on another Earth.  Sitting up, she tried to process what she knew she heard.  

 

Gunshots.

 

There it was again.

 

A rescue?

 

Alice pushed herself up to her feet and stumbled forward, catching herself on the clear door of the cell.  She pressed against the smooth surface, looking for the cause of the stark sound.  The sounds of shouting and fighting brought her a sudden rush of hope.  

 

Two familiar figures immediately caught her attention.  

 

Hope completely filled her over.

 

A rescue!

 

The cavalry had arrived to save them!  She didn't know how it was possible for them to find them and then get them out...and have the whole return trip part figured out...but she was thrilled.  She pounded on the door and started to shout.  She needed to get their attention.  Sure, all of these people needed to be freed, but they were there for her and Harewood (and they would be able to help with the prison break.

 

"Supergirl!  Danvers!  Over here!" she shouted in between pounds.  

 

Kara was the one who turned in her direction, her adorable sunny face scrunching up.  The conversation between the Danvers sisters was brief, but they moved towards her cell.  

 

"I can't believe that you found me, I was starting to think that no one was coming," Adler rattled off.  "Who else is with you?  We have to find Harewood.  We also need to let all of this people go free before we go back to our Earth--"

 

" _ Our Earth _ ?" Kara echoed.  She looked even more confused.

 

" _ Who _ are you?" Alex asked next.

 

"This isn't funny!" Adler said upset, tears forming in her eyes.  "This place is completely upside down!  It's been  _ hell _ !  They separated Harewood and I!  We couldn't get back--"

 

"That portal," Alex breathed.  "I told you it had to go somewhere."

 

"How do you know us?" Kara questioned.

 

"Some things are the same on Earths, like me having a Supergirl...an Alex and Kara Danvers…" Adler said, hoping that this meant that they were like her Danvers sisters and that they were going to help her.  "Some things are vastly different, like whatever happened to your Earth."

 

"It wasn't like this a year ago," Alex said sadly.  "A new president took over, I don't even know how that happened...it's still a shock...and then...then it was like the world lost hope, that hate bled into so many souls, and the world started to slowly self destruct."

 

"Please," Adler begged.  "Let me out.  Help me friend my friend.  I'll help you free these people and destroy this place if that's why you're here…"

 

The sisters were now looking at each other.  "We could send them home," Alex told Kara.

 

"What if she's some kind of spy?" Kara countered.

 

"I could tell you things," Adler offered.  "That's probably stuff so many people could know, though."  She sucked in a breath and held back her tears and her overwhelming emotions.  "On my Earth, you're Supergirl...but you also work at CatCo...and Alex works with me and Harewood at the DEO."

 

"DEO?"

 

"Department of Extra-Normal Operations," Adler said.  "We protect the world from aliens.  The bad ones.  We help those that we can."

 

"You help?"

 

Adler gave a nod.  "Yeah…  The DEO was once all about alien hunting, but that's changed.  You're a hero to so many, you both are...including my little girl."  It was at the point where she felt like she needed to appeal to them emotionally.  "Her name's Charlie, she's only five.  She and my wife, Lara...who Alex, Harewood, and I work with...she's probably completely devastated that I've been gone as long as I have…"  She sucked in a breath, realizing that her emotions were getting the better of her.  "And that's not even talking about Harewood...his wife and his girls…"  She shook her head.  "I know that your world probably feels like hope has been taken away and it's been set on flames, but there are other Earths out there…  There's better versions of it.  There's probably worse versions of it.  What I can say is that you can inspire people, you can change this world...both of you...you're a symbol of hope...to so many…"  Adler sucked in a breath.  " _ Please, help me _ ."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


**Day Forty-Three**

  
  


They'd been in Cadmus for more than a month and Alice felt sicker knowing that now as the twisted Earth's Alex Danvers escorted her and Harewood to the portal.  It was guarded, which was good.  They'd taken an extra day to get to it because the Danvers had insisted that both she and Harewood get medical treatment and have access to things that would make them feel more human again.  As much as it was nice to feel like she did in that moment, she had felt like her heart was breaking thinking about how that was just an entire extra day that she didn't need to be away from Lara and Charlie.

 

"Ready?" Alex asked.

 

"More than ready," Harewood responded.

 

"I'm glad that we could do this for you and I hope that we never see you again."

 

Harewood gave her a smile and a nod before heading through.

 

Adler stood there for a moment.  "You're doing good work."

 

"Trying," Alex replied.

 

"Use the emblem...the House of El symbol...broadcast it as a symbol of hope.  Figure out a simple message that can be translated.  Get the word out there that hope hasn't been locked away from this world," Adler told her.  "The people of this Earth will always need the Danvers sisters…"

 

"Don't you mean Supergirl?"

 

"No," Adler said with a slight shake of her head.  "I mean both of you."

 

"You should go."

 

"Good luck."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


TBC…

  
  
  
  
  



	3. Love Wins

**Day Two**

  
  


"Adler!" Danvers screamed.

 

"Harewood!" Torres called.

 

Alice fumbled forward and ended up in a heap on the ground.  Her fingers curling into the dry earth beneath her.  She sucked in a breath and then huffed it out before looking around.  Black boots where shuffling towards her and all she could think about was that she couldn't wait to see Lara...that she actually wanted it to be Lara.  There was so much that she needed to say in that moment.  As her eyes moved up the black military issued pant leg, she found a familiar face...but it wasn't her wife's.

 

"Are you okay?" Danvers asked, crouching down, her hands on Alice's shoulders.

 

The sun seemed to be exactly where it had been before.  As she looked around, she saw Harewood off to the side, sitting up with Torres with him.  They seemed to be back home.  They were safe now, she told herself.  "Lara...Lara's got to be worried.  We've been gone for so long--"

 

"What?" Danvers stated with a huffed breath of confusion.  "You've--you've not been gone.  You were knocked back.  Don't you remember?"

 

That bit of information made her head spin.  "Wha--no," Alice fumbled and then emphasized the latter word.  "No," she added with a shake of her head.  Moving herself into more of a sitting position instead of just being there on her hands and knees, Alice tried to take in what was being told to her.  "Davis and I have been gone for something like forty-three days…"

 

"Where did you think you went?"

 

"To another Earth."

 

"Another Earth?"

 

Adler glared a bit at Danvers and her tone.  That tone spoke volumes.  "Don't act like that's something that's not in the realm of possibility.  Didn't that speedy guy come from another Earth?"

 

"True," Alex responded slowly.  "But there was no time difference between his travel here and back...at least none that we know of."

 

"I don't know about all of that," Alice insisted.  "But I can tell you that we spent over a month on the worst Earth out there."

 

"Let's get you back to the DEO then," Alex said before straightening and extending her hand to Adler and pulling her up to her feet.  "Get you both checked over."

 

"I really want to see my wife."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"I want to see my wife!"

 

"I need you to sit here for a few more minutes, Agent," Doctor Hernandez told her.  His tone was getting grumpier with her, the louder she got.  

 

She couldn't help it, though.  All she wanted was to see Lara.  They'd all come right into the med bay and they were all told that they had to wait to be checked out before they could leave.  They'd already released Danvers and Torres, but Adler knew that Harewood was still being kept in medical.  Likely, they'd checked out the two that hadn't been affected by the portal in order to get them out of there...the only problem with that was that Alice was far too anxious to just sit around and wait.  "Forget this!  I'm fine!" she shouted at Hernandez as she got to her feet and grabbed her jacket.  The doctor knew better than to try to stop her, last time she'd nearly broken his arm (she couldn't help it, she hated sitting idly around, and she hated medbay in general).  

 

"Adler!  Sit!" came the boom voice of her boss.

 

There was just enough time for her to blink and suck in a breath before miserably sitting back down.  J'onn approached her, his face softening.  "Benanti's out right now," he informed her.  "The school called.  Charlie has a fever and threw up in class, so Lara went out to pick her up and take her home.  I can put in a call to her to see if she can just come here...or I can have Danvers or someone go to your home and sit with Charlie--"

 

"No," Adler said quickly, shaking her head.  She covered her face and sighed.  "It's probably for the best."

 

"I know you two had had an argument before--"

 

"That doesn't matter.  Lara was right--"

 

"All that  _ does _ matter is that you and Harewood check out healthy, so let Hernandez do his job," J'onn told her.  "As soon as you're in the clear, you can go home to your wife and daughter.  Okay?"

 

"What about my debriefing?"

 

"Alex has filled me in, but I'll expect a full report...tomorrow," he said, the last word gentle.  "So, can you please sit still for the doctor?"

 

She still didn't like it, but it was a fair compromise.  "Okay," Alice said with a nod.  Sucking in a breath and then pushing it out slowly, she tried to think of how she was going to make things up to Lara and maybe what she could do to help make Charlie feel better once she got to leave the DEO.

 

"You know it's probably flu," Hernandez randomly spoke up.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Fever and vomiting sounds like the flu," he clarified.  "It's going around."

 

"Oh...okay.  Great.  The flu.  Charlie's going to feel like crap."

 

"I can write you a list of things to pick up on your way home once I've finished checking you out," he offered.

 

"Thanks," Adler said slowly and sort of confused.  "I'd appreciate that."

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


Once she'd been released from the DEO's med bay, she'd texted Lara to let her know that she was going to pick up some things from the store.  The trip was quick and to the point, so Alice was home lugging in reusable shopping bags filled with crackers, bread, rice, applesauce, jell-o, broth, chicken soup, pretzels, ice pops, ginger ale, and tea.  She'd basically covered all of her bases and knew that most of the times...when Charlie got sick then she and Lara also caught it.  This was probably the first time in her life that Alice welcomed having to be stuck home miserable with the flu.  She'd be with Charlie and Lara...and she was on their Earth.  

 

Nothing could be worse than the last forty-three days she'd endured in that nightmare.

 

So, flu supplies hadn't been the only thing she'd brought home.  She'd also brought home an entire arm full of bright blooming flowers.  Alice juggled it all as she struggled to get her car keys from her pocket and then the key into the keyhole.  The door opened a moment later and she stumbled in before pushing the door shut with her foot.  Looking around, things looked...normal.  Lara and Charlie weren't in sight.  In her heart, she could feel those forty-three days.  All of that time and she was the only one who was feeling it.  That didn't matter, though, she knew how precious--she'd had so much time to think...to think about everything.

 

Setting everything onto the counter, she immediately moved to place the flowers into vases.  There were enough for at least 3 vases.  Alice had wanted to make sure she had enough to put some in Charlie's room.  It wouldn't speed her recovery, but perhaps it would cheer her.  She was in the middle of arranging flowers when Lara appeared.  Her wife looked tired already, her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail--

 

"You didn't have to come home," Lara said evenly.  "I got it, besides you know how it is with the flu...there's throwing up and--"

 

She didn't let her wife finish her sentence.  Instead, she closed the distance between them in three quick strides and enveloped her in love.  Alice held Lara like she wasn't going to see her again...because she thought she'd already lost her.  She couldn't treat each day like tomorrow was guaranteed.  

 

It wasn't.  

 

" _ I'm so sorry _ , Lara," Alice whispered full of emotion before her voice broke.  Her eyes welled up with tears and then they simply fell.

 

"Sweetheart, I'm glad that your mission brought you home in one piece, but I have puke I have to clean up," Lara told her as she pulled away and then moved towards the kitchen.

 

It took her a minute, watching Lara as she pulled out cleaning supplies from underneath the sink.  Alice had to remind herself that even though it had been forty-three days for her...it had been more like she'd been gone from the DEO for forty-three minutes.  

 

"Are you crying?" Lara asked suddenly and with a wave of concern.  Even with a bucket filled with cleaning products, she moved towards her quickly.  "What happened?  You're okay, right?  The boss would have--"

 

"It's--I'm fine," she finally pushed out.  It was true.  Right now, Lara didn't need to hear the whole story. 

 

"You brought flowers--"

 

"Let me help you with Charlie," Alice said as she took the bucket and handed Lara the vase of flowers she'd planned for their daughter's room.  "These are for her room.  I'll clean up the puke, you have a hard time with it anyways."

 

"You're sure?"

 

Alice wasn't a fan of cleaning up vomit, but it was something she'd happily do to spare her wife the gagging and possibly adding to what needed to be cleaned.  "Yeah, where's the puke?"

 

"Bathroom floor--"

 

"Okay, I got it."

 

"And the flowers?"

 

"Her dresser," Alice said.  "I also think I picked up everything we might need.  Hernandez gave me a list of necessities."

 

"Hernandez?  You'd break his arm this time?" Lara questioned seriously as they headed in the same general direction.

 

Alice rolled her eyes.  "That was  _ one _ time."

 

Lara smirked at that.  "I'm going to check Charlie's temp again.  She should probably sit in a tepid bath if she's still feverish, but she's so miserable.  I'm going to try the washcloths before we force her into a bath."

 

"I can carry her."

 

"I know."

 

Alice saw a glimpse of their miserable little one curled up on her bed wrapped in her fuzzy Princess Poppy blanket.  She frowned deeply, the last thing she ever wanted was for that precious little angel to suffer.  Kids being sick was always the worst.  "I'll be in in a few minutes," Alice told Lara before pressing a quick kiss to her wife's cheek.  

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"You going to tell me what's going on?"

 

She'd been home for four hours.

 

This was the first time they'd really been able to talk.

 

Charlie had to be put in a tepid bath and they'd managed to get a popsicle into her without her throwing it up.  She wasn't at a normal temp yet, though, so they'd given her a dose of Motrin to hopefully assist with lowering her fever even further.  For now, Charlie was asleep in her bed, exhausted and looking completely frail.  

 

They needed to talk about this.  The sooner, the better.  Alice sucked in a breath and leaned against the counter, her arms crossing her chest, and her gaze moving towards the floor.  "Harewood and I ended up in some fucked up parallel universe...and to us, we've been stuck there for forty-three days."

 

"What?"

 

"It was hell.  We're so freaking lucky to live on this Earth," Alice said, her mind flashing to the nightmare they'd endured.  "I guess we're lucky that that Earth has a set of Danvers sisters too.  They were the ones that had saved us from Cadmus on that side…"

 

"What?"

 

"National City was basically destroyed.  The only complex that was still standing was a Cadmus prison...it was like who we've been looking for except they get to use the prisoners for all of their twisted experiments…  They lock up anyone who's basically not straight, white, and obedient."  That was the best way she could think to sum it up.  It was ugly.  "But I'm fine.  I was worried at what you thought when I was there...we didn't exactly leave things on the perfect note."

 

Silence.

 

Alice lifted her head and she could see Lara's face, tears and emotions flashing across it.  Her wife grabbed her, hugging the life out of her, and kissing up her neck before finally pulling back...her hands holding Alice's face before kissing were placed all over her face.  The kiss that Alice had been waiting for finally came and it lasted much longer than the hug had.  Lara pushed away tears when they finally separated to breathe.  "Never think that I would be upset with you…  I would have been fighting to find you--"

 

"I know."

 

"This morning, it doesn't matter--"

 

"It does!" Alice argued.  "Maybe we should have a baby."

 

"Alice--"

 

"I've had forty-three days to think about it, Lara," she reminded gently, her thumb stroking her wife's cheek before she leaned in for another kiss.  "Let's have a baby.   Let's put more love out into this world."

 

"You're sure?"

 

"I don't know if I've ever been more sure of something in my life...other than marrying you," Alice told her truthfully.

 

"So, we're going to have a baby?" Lara asked, beaming.

 

Smiling, she nodded before wrapping her arms around her wife once again.  "Though, we're going to have to go through a couple of extra steps."

 

"Worth it!"

 

Alice just grinned.  "Worth it," she echoed before kissing her wife.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


**Day Eight**

  
  


The flu managed to keep itself contained to just Charlie by some miracle.  Just the same, she and Lara managed to miss nearly an entire week of work.  It had been good, though, for a lot of reasons...and Alice had known that the boss would have wanted them to take that time even if Charlie hadn't been sick.  It had been necessary and needed.

 

There had been a lot of baby talk in the last week and Alice just found herself excited every moment to be so blessed with Lara, Charlie, and the world they were so lucky to live in...a  baby just was like a cherry on top…  It felt a lot like no matter what their future held...it was going to be filled with love and there would never be a shortage of hope.  

 

"Donuts!" Adler announced cheerily as she entered the DEO with four dozen donuts.  It was far more than she normally brought, but they could all use a sugar high.  It was fine.  Also, distributing donuts would give her something to do some walking around and keep her mind off the fact that Lara wasn't there (at least not at that very moment, but soon).  Her wife was instead at an OBGYN appointment (or done with it possibly), which she hadn't wanted Alice to attend because it was all going to be questions and going over how to do things.  The anxiety of what was coming was enough when they were separated now when this baby was just an idea and hope, she couldn't imagine nine or ten months down the line.

 

She went on with her duties, being back was definitely nice, but she kept looking around...she found herself expecting Lara to creep up on her at any moment.  Alice sat next to Vasquez, the remainder of the donuts sitting nearby.  This normally wasn't something she did, but she wasn't ready to tackle paperwork and there was no field work to be done at the moment.  "We sure there aren't any Ambler sightings?"

 

"You hate Ambler round ups," Vasquez shot back.

 

Alice sighed.  

 

"Don't you have things you can be doing?"  Vasquez turned and looked around the core area they were sitting in.  "Is this because Benanti's not here yet?  You two aren't fighting again, are you?"

 

"No," Alice waved away.  "No, we're good.  I'm just--"

 

"Driving me crazy."

 

Her eyes met Vasquez's.  "Those weren't the  _ exact  _ words I was going to use."

 

"Does this have to do with the fact that you and Harewood thought you were in that twisted universe for over a month and tortured?"

 

The question was matter of factly queried and it took Alice a moment of taking that in before she could find the words.  "Sort of, I guess," she said and tried to shrug it off.  Vasquez's summary wasn't wrong.  "That place was hell.  I had a lot of time to reflect on my life...what I'd been upset about before I left...and what really mattered."

 

"I can't imagine--"

 

"That's good," she told the other woman quickly.  Alice smiled at Vasquez, which was something that she really only reserved for her wife and daughter.  "You shouldn't have to know what it's like to be in hell."

 

"So, why is Benanti late?"

 

"You know we've been on vacation an entire week...and I don't remember you being the news and the weather before that," Adler pointed out, a little surprised that Vasquez would continue with her questions.

 

Vasquez shrugged and turned her attention back to her computers.  "Someone had to keep up with what was going on with everyone without Benanti here everyday…  I live vicariously through everyone else."

 

"I--"  She found herself stopping suddenly at the sound of her wife's voice.  It was distant but very distinctively her wife.  "I've got to go!  Thanks, Vasquez," Alice said before taking off with the box of donuts, leaving one donut behind for Vasquez before going in search of her wife.  

 

In that moment, no one else mattered.

 

There was no movement around her.  No noise.  No one else existed in the DEO for Alice Adler in those few breaths, footsteps, and heartbeats until she found her wife.  It was a feeling she wasn't familiar with, one of anxious reunion even though she'd seen her wife only hours before.  It was like being in that Cadmus cell all over again, the first night, and wishing that all she could do was to hold her wife again and tell her all the things that she'd feared she'd never get to say...it was that, bottled all into a breath held.  Normally, Adler wasn't one for public displays of affections, but fuck it all, was all she could think as she wrapped her arms around her wife and kissed her like she hadn't just seen her hours before.  She could tell that it had caught Lara off guard because it took her a good beat before the kiss was returned and Alice was enveloped in Lara's arms.  

 

"I'm not used to this version of my wife just yet," Lara teased lightly with a laugh once they were separated.  

 

"So?" Alice asked, holding her wife's hand and heading in the direction of somewhere more private.  There would be enough of what was going on rumoring around the DEO in no time, but right now...this was their time to talk.  

 

"Well, the doctor said that everything's good down there--"

 

"Well I could have told you that."

 

Lara beamed and laughed out loud at that.  "Yes, well...it's always good to check on things just the same...and she gave me all the information on banks and then all the steps we'll need to follow.  I even have a handy checklist of things that we can start looking off for a few months off."

 

"Let's do it now, what do we need to do?"

 

"The papers are in my car."

 

"Well, that's not going to assist in getting things going," Alice said, now feeling like her own clock was ticking (even though she was now past the point where she could actually biologically have her own) and she realized that this was what Lara must have felt.  

 

"Okay, well I'm fairly sure we're supposed to be working."

 

Alice blinked for a moment.  "True…"

 

"And I see the boss coming this way," Lara beamed, but whispered conspiratorially.  "So, we better look like we're busy."

 

"Does he  _ really  _ need us to be working today?"

 

"I told you to take all the time you needed," J'onn spoke up from behind him.

 

Alice spun around.  "That's true."

 

"Do you need another day?"

 

She looked towards her wife, who now looked amused and had her arms crossed over her chest.  Crap.  Alice so wanted to tell him that she was going to take her wife home and they were just going to spend the rest of the day naked in bed together until Charlie got home, but she knew that that really wasn't realistic.  "No," she finally said.  "Just was excited about something."

 

He eyed them both for a moment.  Alice knew that he had to know.  "You'll let me know when there's something I should know?"

 

"Of course," Lara replied brightly.  

 

Alice watched the boss go and then looked towards her wife.  "We can talk about this at lunch, right?"

 

"Unless we're saving the world from alien invasion," her wife teased all too seriously.

 

"Don't jinx us."

 

"They'll probably wait til Monday."

 

"As long as we get to talk about our baby."

 

"Just remember how excited you are about this now," Lara warned with a smile.  "In a few months I'm going to want you to go out at all hours to satisfy weird food cravings."

 

"I can't wait," Alice told her before leaning in for a quick kiss.  

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


The End.

  
  



End file.
